Rockville Historic District Commission to consider demolition request for home built by prominent African-American family

The owner of 725 North Horners Lane in the Two Brothers subdivision in Rockville is seeking a ruling on whether a 1946 Cape Cod house on the property is historic, or can be demolished. Located across the street from the Lincoln Park Cemetery, the land was purchased in 1921 by an African-American man from the Olney-Sandy Spring area. Hilleary Hawkins was likely born into slavery, a Rockville Historic District Commission staff report suggests, because there is no official record of his birth, which was prior to the Civil War. Census records show his childhood home to be Washington, D.C., but family history says it was Brandywine, Maryland.

Hawkins' first two wives died, according to the staff report. His second wife, Alice Bowman, was forty years younger than Hilleary. She is believed to have died in the 1918 flu pandemic, and is buried in the the cemetery across the street, as is Hilleary himself. His grave was unmarked near a tree at the cemetery entrance. The staff report indicates its location was lost after "road improvements" disturbed the site. 

A prior home Hilleary Hawkins built on the property sometime after 1921 no longer stands. His son, Hazel, built the current home with his brother. The property was annexed by the City of Rockville in 1960, despite Hazel objecting to the city's move. Columbia Transfer, LLC, purchased the land in 2014 from Hilleary Hawkins' grandson, Paul. It has assembled several contiguous parcels for business use.

The Hawkins family is prominent in Rockville and Lincoln Park history, and many of their descendants continue to live in the area, the staff report notes. This home "is an example of African-American vernacular residential architecture, built by two brothers on the edge of Lincoln Park, during the period of segregation," Preservation Planner Sheila Bashiri writes. "The house is solidly built and has retained its integrity." As such, the house meets two of the required criteria for historic designation.

Staff is therefore recommending the house be considered for historic designation, rather than demolition. It must be said that the site does have a special appeal, with the rural setting largely retained, and the home having unique architectural character while having been extremely well built. We also have a tremendous amount of information about this family and their experiences over a broad stretch of American and Rockville history; it's quite remarkable, and adds to the historic appeal of the site. The HDC will consider the historic designation question at its virtual online meeting on May 21, 2020

Montgomery County sued over $5 million check handout that group alleges violates federal law

Right-wing government watchdog group Judicial Watch has filed suit against Montgomery County over its recently-announced plan to disburse $5 million-worth of checks to residents who do not qualify for coronavirus financial assistance from the federal government. While the County's official announcement nowhere mentions that the money will go to non-legal residents, it was widely recognized by advocates and opponents alike that the money was intended to go to residents who are here illegally. The initiative was seen by proponents as essential to the County's recovery, given the large number of undocumented immigrants in Montgomery County who would otherwise receive little financial relief during the pandemic.

Judicial Watch is seeking a restraining order against County Executive Marc Elrich and Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Director Raymond L. Crowel on behalf of two Montgomery County taxpayers, Sharon Bauer and Richard Jurgena. The restraining order would prevent Elrich and Crowel from disbursing any of the $5 million to residents who are in the country illegally.

The group asserts that the County's plan, known as the Emergency Assistance Relief Payment (EARP) program, violates federal law. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1621(a), a local government may only provide benefits to "unlawfully present aliens" if the state the jurisdiction is in enacts a law permitting it to do so. Judicial Watch argues that, because Maryland has never passed a law allowing Montgomery County to disburse cash payments directly to residents living here illegally, the EARP program itself is illegal.

“Montgomery County Executive Elrich and the Montgomery County Council have no legal authority on their own to spend taxpayer money for cash payments to illegal aliens,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “The coronavirus challenge doesn’t give politicians a pass to violate the law. If they want to give cash payments to illegal aliens, they must be accountable and transparent, and, as federal law requires, pass a state law to do so.”

The group has filed a similar lawsuit in California, which is still pending there. Judicial Watch recently won a legal fight against Maryland, which resulted in a judge ordering the state to hand over all voter data from Montgomery County, after Judicial Watch found that there were more names registered to vote in MoCo than there are actual eligible voters in the county.

Armed robbery at Rockville hotel

City of Rockville police responded to a report of an armed robbery at a hotel yesterday around 3:36 PM. The hotel was in the 16000 block of Shady Grove Road, according to crime data. Preliminary information states that the weapon used was not a gun. An indecent exposure incident occurred at a hotel in the same block one week ago.

Another car stolen in Rockville

A car was reported stolen from the 1500 block of Templeton Place in Rockville early Tuesday morning. This was in the townhome community across Rockville Pike from Haverty's Furniture. The vehicle was taken sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, according to crime data.

This is the third vehicle stolen in Rockville in the last week. Remember to lock your car, and to remove or hide all valuables in the cabin.

Car stolen in Rockville

A car was reported stolen to City of Rockville police on Saturday. The vehicle was taken from a residential driveway in the 700 block of Gaither Road around 6:00 PM, according to crime data.

Indecent exposure reported at Rockville hotel

A case of indecent exposure was reported from a hotel in the Shady Grove area on Wednesday. According to crime data, the incident was reported from a hotel in the 16000 block of Shady Grove Road around 6:04 AM. The call was responded to by the City of Rockville police.

Rio Lakefront polling residents on reopening

State and local governments around the country are planning how and when to reopen their communities and economies after the coronavirus lockdown. Businesses are also preparing, but the concerns and readiness of potential customers are a primary consideration in their own decisions. Peterson Cos., the owner of Downtown Silver Spring and Rio Lakefront, is reaching out to them directly with online surveys to gauge their feelings about the near future.

They are asking questions such as, how long after orders are lifted will they be ready to venture out to dine or shop. Which specific types of businesses they plan to patronize, and their attitudes about mask-wearing, are among other queries in the polls. Feelings about dining inside vs. outside are a central issue, as is the willingness to wait outside a restaurant due to reducing seating capacity.

You can take the survey for Downtown Silver Spring or Rio Lakefront yourself online. This certainly seems like a smart idea, rather than trying to guess whether your customers are ready, which goods and services they are ready to buy, and what inconveniences or changes they are willing to tolerate.